Regarding the co-founder problem, time for a music analogy...
As a student there is this idea that you should be in a band, making music. Getting there needs lots of brainstorming to come up with the songs, lots of practice, jamming sessions, rehearsals, going out to try and get gigs, musical collaborations, partnerships with DJ's and support acts, getting gigs and publicising the gigs. Then there is the dream of getting signed by a record label.
The idea that you could do all of this on your own is quite laughable, isn't it? Even solo artists usually have a producer or a song-writer that is in effect a 'co-founder'.
Yet some get there on there own. Take for example Cliff Richard. The Shadows were his band but also mere hired hands with no equity. Cliff Richard didn't even have to write songs, those could be acquired somewhere else much like how a developer can pick up frameworks and make them their own.
In music there is an understanding that an artist can be solo. Just because they are not in a band does not mean nobody believed in them. Record labels don't tell them to go away and come back when they are in a band, if the talent is there then they will sort out whatever is needed, whether that be session musicians, songwriting or production.
This music analogy may appear a long way off software MVPs, however, it isn't. Another thing to learn from the music industry is that people don't expect a product (a song) to be number one on the hit parade for eternity. New shiny things on the web should be seen that way too, expected to be popular for a while in the 'top 40' and then to 'sell' consistently as back catalogue.
You seem to be confusing "solo founder" with "single person company". A solo founder can go and hire ten people, build an amazing team and knock it out of the park. A "single person company" is severely bandwidth limited across all required disciplines. That's the case of your music example.
As a student there is this idea that you should be in a band, making music. Getting there needs lots of brainstorming to come up with the songs, lots of practice, jamming sessions, rehearsals, going out to try and get gigs, musical collaborations, partnerships with DJ's and support acts, getting gigs and publicising the gigs. Then there is the dream of getting signed by a record label.
The idea that you could do all of this on your own is quite laughable, isn't it? Even solo artists usually have a producer or a song-writer that is in effect a 'co-founder'.
Yet some get there on there own. Take for example Cliff Richard. The Shadows were his band but also mere hired hands with no equity. Cliff Richard didn't even have to write songs, those could be acquired somewhere else much like how a developer can pick up frameworks and make them their own.
In music there is an understanding that an artist can be solo. Just because they are not in a band does not mean nobody believed in them. Record labels don't tell them to go away and come back when they are in a band, if the talent is there then they will sort out whatever is needed, whether that be session musicians, songwriting or production.
This music analogy may appear a long way off software MVPs, however, it isn't. Another thing to learn from the music industry is that people don't expect a product (a song) to be number one on the hit parade for eternity. New shiny things on the web should be seen that way too, expected to be popular for a while in the 'top 40' and then to 'sell' consistently as back catalogue.